Parties Vie To Sign New Citizens

WEST PALM BEACH — At 11 a.m. Tuesday Nicolle Johnston was a citizen of Brazil. At 11:30 a.m. she became an American. At noon, she became a Republican.

Like the 51 other immigrants naturalized as American citizens in the Federal Courthouse here Tuesday, Johnston quickly learned that she had new rights, especially the right to vote.

To get from the courtroom where they became Americans, to the elevator that would take them back to the streets of West Palm Beach, the new citizens had to walk a virtual gauntlet of the most emblematic of Americans -- politicians.

``You`re a citizen now, register,`` implored Dorothy Pfeiffer of the Republican Club of the Palm Beaches as she greeted the new citizens.

Other Republican party leaders lining the hallway dispensed leaflets that included everything from the Pledge of Allegiance to a credo entitled I am a Republican because . . .

Local Republican leaders have attended similar naturalization ceremonies for months.

But Tuesday the Palm Beach County Democratic Executive Committee also had members in the hallway, and they handed each new citizen a pamphlet detailing, among other things, the evils of being a Republican.

``It`s a real good history for these people, if they can read it,`` said Esther Krutick, a DEC member.

Lawrence Griffith and Glenn Harman also stood in the long hallway and distributed a book that described even greater evils and merits.

Both are members of The Gideons International. They handed the new Americans a Bible.

``It feels like you`re real welcome here,`` said 20-year-old Cuban native Damaris Guardado, as he peerdd into the bag filled with materials given him. ``You`ve got all kinds of goodies here.``

Johnston, who is 24 and has lived in the United States since 1973, said she was convinced of her party affiliation long before she left the courtroom Tuesday.

``Republican all the way,`` she said, after registering to vote. ``I have always been a Republican. I think we have the best president.

``Somebody wanted me to become a Democrat. They wanted me to become a Christian too,`` she said. ``If Miss Piggy was to run for president I would vote for her if she was a Republican.``

Germania Melenciano, a 50-year-old native of Santo Domingo, registered as a Democrat minutes after she became a U.S. citizen. She said she`s a fan of U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy.

Her son Robert, 29, escorted her through the crowd of smiling, handshaking politicians. ``It`s like a political fight. Everybody is rooting for their team,`` he said.

When the hallway finally cleared and the political campaigning ended, 20 of the new Americans had registered as Democrats, eight as Republicans and three as non-partisan voters.

``It`s the first time I`ve been here, but from now on I`ll be at every one,`` said Sid Krutick, a member of the Democratic committee.